Ilopango
About Ilopango
The 8 x 11 km Ilopango caldera, filled by one of El Salvador's largest lakes, has a scalloped 150-500 m high rim. The caldera, which lies immediately east of the capital city of San Salvador, is strongly controlled by regional faults of the central Salvador graben. Four major dacitic-rhyolitic explosive eruptions during the late Pleistocene and Holocene produced pyroclastic-flow and pyroclastic-fall deposits that cover much of El Salvador. The latest collapse resulted from the massive 5th century CE Tierra Blanca Joven (TBJ) eruption, which produced widespread pyroclastic flows and devastated early Mayan cities. Post-caldera eruptions formed a series of glassy dacitic and andesitic lava domes within the lake and near its shore. The Islas Quemadas, a group of low islets in the center of the lake that mark the summit of a largely submerged lava dome, were formed during an eruption in 1879-80.
Eruption reports
Reports from GDACS and NASA EONET linked to this volcano.
No eruption reports in our records yet. New reports appear here automatically.
Earthquakes nearby, 30 days
Within about 50 km. Swarms of small quakes can sometimes accompany volcanic unrest.
No earthquakes recorded nearby in the last 30 days.